A video that has gone viral – of a girl in primary school being kicked, punched and throttled by a group of fellow pupils – is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to violence at Malabar Primary, according to some of the parents.
They said they were terrified to send their children to school following several serious incidents of assault and bullying, including fist fights and stabbings, which one mother said had led to suicide attempts by pupils.
The parents said the attacks were getting worse – pinning the blame on school principal Crispin Abrahams for failing to intervene.
The most recent incident, which was recorded by another pupil, occurred on Wednesday last week.
The video, which shows a group of girls taunting a fellow pupil before choking, kicking, punching and pushing the girl into a wall, was posted online on Friday.
It has already been viewed more than 10,000 times on Facebook, with more than 200 comments and 300 shares.
Abrahams declined to comment on all the allegations, saying: “There are procedures for incidents – they are reported to the department of education, [which guides] us through the disciplinary process.”
He did say that two of the girls caught on video – the attacker and the victim, who fought back – were undergoing disciplinary processes but were being allowed to write exams, which started this week.
He referred further questions to the department.
Education department spokesperson Malibongwe Mtima said officials were aware of several incidents that had taken place at the school during the year.
Following the latest attack, the police had been asked to address the entire school about bullying.
The 55-second recording shows a group of grade 7 girls arguing with another pupil, apparently as a result of a boyfriend of one of the pupils “flirting” with the victim, who is smaller than most of the girls taunting her.
The victim is told by one of her tormentors: “If you mess with one of us, you mess with all of us.”
At that point, the girl who was said to be dating the boy in question removes her school shirt, under which she is wearing a T-shirt, in preparation for the impending fight.
More words are exchanged and then another pupil steps directly in front of the smaller girl, standing almost nose to nose with the girl, who pushes her away.
The other pupil shoves her back and then, in a shocking display of violence, the pupil in the T-shirt chokes the girl, pushing her against a wall, before kicking her in the stomach.
The smaller girl retaliates, punching her attacker.
The pupil again throttles the smaller girl several times, finally being pulled away by friends before the video ends.
Attached to the video – posted by Keshana Chetty – is a message, saying: “Really disappointed to see what is happening in Malabar primary school.”
Chetty then wrote about a separate incident involving her sister and cousin.
She wrote: “My sister was choked in class by another pupil two weeks ago, my cousin was hit on the head with a plank that had a nail in it.
“I know that this happens at a lot of schools.
“However, it is disheartening to see how angry and vindictive kids of this age are.
“Something needs to be done to protect our kids from bullying and violence.”
Mtima said that as a result of the ongoing bullying at the school, the department would include Malabar Primary in its anti-bullying programmes.
“We recently had a three-day camp at the army base in PE with great success,” he said.
“We will extend it to include Malabar Primary.
“We have learner support agents and social workers in schools.
“In the case of Malabar, the SAPS will continue to collaborate with the school on this.”
A parent, who asked not to be named, said she had been called to the school in October, when she was shocked to find out that her son, who was bloodied, had been attacked with a plank with a nail in it.
She said her 13-year-old son, who is also in grade 7, and another pupil were teasing each other when the incident suddenly got out of hand.
“[The other pupil, a girl] told my son ‘you are going to see now what I’m going to do’ and [she] actually took a plank with a long nail in it and threw it against the back of my son’s head,” the mother said.
The woman said at a meeting the next morning – between both children’s parents, the principal and the teacher – it was decided that the pupils would receive counselling.
However, the woman said that no further action was taken following the meeting.
While waiting to see Abrahams, a reporter saw three girls running into the administration building to report that a boy pupil had stolen taxi fare from one of them.
A group of four parents who were at the school expressed fear and resentment towards their alma mater following separate incidents of bullying at the school.
They all accused Abrahams of allowing the bullying to continue by failing to act against the perpetrators.
None of them are being named because it could make their children the targets of further bullying.
One mother alleged that her nine-year-old son had been stabbed in the back with a pencil by a classmate in October.
“About three weeks ago, one of my son’s classmates was spitting in class and my son reprimanded him.
“The child then stabbed my boy with a pencil in his back, which actually broke off in his skin,” she said.
“Despite coming to school with the doctor’s reports and showing up to disciplinary hearings, no action has been taken against the boy because my son retaliated by stabbing the boy back with a pencil.
“They are both still in the same class.”
Another mother said her 11-year-old son had tried to commit suicide two years ago as a result of relentless bullying at the school.
“I walked into the room and my son had a rope around his neck, ready to take his life,” the woman said.
“I only found out after that incident that he was being badly bullied at school and saw no other way.”
She said her son was doing better now.
Another parent said her 13-year-old son was being exposed to other social ills as a result of the lawlessness allegedly taking place at the school.
“Earlier this year, at the school’s athletics day at the Gelvandale Stadium, a group of grade 7s were drinking on the stand,” she said.
“I took photos and gave it to the principal, but nothing was done.”
The parents all said they had not taken the alleged attacks on their children further as they had trusted the school to deal with the incidents accordingly.
They said they were disappointed by the lack of action.